Caskett Ficlets
by xfirefly9x
Summary: Rick/Kate. A collection of short fics based on the relationship between Rick Castle and Kate Beckett.
1. The Right Thing Hurts

_A/N: Tag to the season 1 final._

_**The Right Thing Hurts**_

Some things are simple while others are not. This is an occasion where it is not. There are so many layers contributing to the overall complicated nature of this moment in time and none of them are pleasant. Each leads him away from where he wants to be and yet it would be wrong not to say anything.

He must tell her. If it ruins any chance of a continued relationship with her then that is the price he will pay. She has paid more than anyone ever should and this... It could very well give her something back. Closure is a powerful force in the universe and something she lacks.

As difficult as it might be to follow through with, it is the right thing to do. She deserves to know the details surrounding her mother's death. Answers can give her the closure that time has not. He has those answers.

It's with a heavy heart, aching for the friendship he is about to break and for the woman herself, that he says the words. Such simple words they are and yet with so much power behind them. It's the beginning of an end.

"Can I talk to you for a sec?"

_fin._


	2. Conflicted Contradictions

_A/N: Spoilers for season one finale._

_**Conflicted Contradictions**_

The night after Rick tells her about her mother she doesn't know what to feel. Perhaps as a result of that she goes through a myriad of emotions. She's furious at him for going behind her back when she asked him specifically not to. She's glad he did and feels betrayed that he did and she is hopeful about what he found out.

She is worried about what this turn in events might mean for her both personally and professionally. She doesn't want to sink back into the depression she was in years ago when 'it' happened. She doesn't want to remember that pain – it's already beginning to creep back in – but she does want it at the same time, which scares her.

She wants it because she misses her mother and she wants it because if he's right, if the annoying, too charming for his own good man is right, she may finally get some closure.

Still, it's a matter of principle in the end. He betrayed her. He went behind her back to dig up the skeletons of her past and to metaphorically rub her nose in them. Even if he did have good intentions is that something friends do? Why does it pain her so?

And why does she want to call him up or see him and beat the rest of what he discovered out of him? Why, why, why?

She doesn't bother with dinner, choosing instead to lie in the darkness of her room and stare up at the ceiling while the gloomy feeling sinks deeper under her skin.

_fin._


	3. No Way In Hell

_(Lanie's POV)_

_**No Way In Hell**_

There is no way in hell that my girl, Kate, doesn't have a thing for Castle! Anyone with eyes can see there's something going on there. The way they look at each other, little glances and exchanged looks they think no one else sees… all the proof is there!

Now Kate, she might deny it but that also points to a romantic inkling. She doth protest too much in my opinion! She's fallen hard for this guy. And cockiness aside, he's damn well worth falling for. He has the same look about him when he's around her too. It's destiny.

_fin._


	4. Childhood Remembrance

_**Childhood Remembrance**_

He was a pirate. No, a cowboy! No, wait. A cowboy, but in space! Yes. Yes, that's what he was and no one could tell him differently. He pulled on his suspenders and donned a brown coat that pooled on the floor at his feet. It was a little too long, yes, but it got the point across.

He grabbed his fake gun from his bed and hooked it into the holster at his belt (a prop Martha brought him home from a western movie she landed a small role in).

That done, he looked in the mirror. It wasn't much, he decided, but it was enough. His costume would make all the other kids jealous the following night, for Halloween. No one else would have a costume quite like his.

Forcing a serious expression on his face, his eyes darted from side to side, and then he ripped the gun from his holster and aimed it at the mirror. "Wah!"

Yes. This would be a year he would never forget.

* * *

She smiled as she looked at her reflection in the mirror. A few minutes searching through her closet and then matching random items of clothing together had resulted in something quite magnificent. She looked just like a cop. Like her father.

It was more than just a costume to her. What her father stood for meant a lot to many people out there, and she liked to think that one day she would find a way to help people like he did.

She slid a fake gun into the holster at her hip, and pinned some of her father's badges to her front.

Yes. This would be a year she would never forget.

_fin._


	5. The Deadliest Time of Year

_**The Deadliest Time of Year**_

"They say that Christmas shopping can be one of the deadliest events of the year. The frantic rush of people seeking out various items of interest to give to their beloved... it's accompanied by the rage inside each and every one of us that tells us 'kill strangers in the mall, fellow shoppers, or be killed by the loved ones who don't appreciate getting nothing for Christmas'."

Throughout Castle's eloquent speech, Beckett had been looking through various ties. Now, she turns and smiles sweetly. "Castle?"

"Yeah?" He looks at her, sheepish, as if caught in a situation far more shameful than their current one.

"Shut up and help me pick out a tie for Ryan and Esposito."

"On it," he says quickly, and twenty seconds later, he's holding two ties out before him for her to examine. "Yes? Am I good or what?"

"Wow, Castle. Maybe there's a reason for your being here after all."

"Ha," he says, though he seems more put off by her statement than amused or entertained. Over the next half hour, he wears the same perturbed look.

"Oh, get over it," Beckett says later. "You've been pouting all morning."

"You've been telling me all morning that you don't want me here, to shut up, and that I'm getting in the way," he replies, not exactly saddened as he says it, but more...thoughtful. She starts to protest. "No. No, don't argue. Listen for a minute. Christmas is a time to spend with people you care about. So, Kate. If you don't care about me, what am I doing here?"

Beckett frowns and grips the vase in her hands a little tighter. "What?"

"Do you care about me, Kate? Or am I wasting my time here?"

"Of course I care about you, Castle. We're friends."

"Are we? Really?"

"Yes, we... At the office and on jobs we're-"

"Colleagues. Colleagues, Kate. Not friends."

"Castle," she says. "I... I don't know what to say."

"Don't bother then. I'll go. Good luck with the rest of your shopping." He looks sad now like someone just ran over a puppy. Twice.

"No, wait. Castle." She looks at him, pleading him with her eyes.

He walks off.

"Hey! Stop." She takes up chase and grabs him by the arm. "Listen. You are my friend, Castle. Of course you are."

"Oh? Then why do you keep putting me down?"

Beckett frowns, letting her fingers toy with the edges of the tie Castle picked out for Esposito. "I don't mean to. It's just... it's our thing, isn't it? Poking fun at one another."

"If it is, then maybe we should find a new thing," he says. "I'm a semi-muscular man and I can take it, but... that doesn't mean... Well. It's just getting old, okay?"

"Okay. Fine. We'll find a new thing."

They stand there, by a rack of men's shoes, and stare at everything but each other. Some things cannot be said without a price. In this case, the price is their ease with one another. A man bustles by with his wife and Castle shifts to get out of their way. He bumps into her, only gently, but it is enough.

"Castle," she says, his touch bringing her to talk.

"Beckett," he replies.

"So, where does this leave us?" she asks.

He has no answer for her. Frenzied shoppers around them move past, blur past, and they stand on the spot and don't move. "I guess that's something we'll have to figure out."

_fin._


	6. Dig Us Out

_**Dig Us Out**_

"Uh, Castle?"

A half-asleep, shirtless Castle peers around the bedroom door. He blinks a few times. "Yeah?"

"I think we're snowed in."

"No. No, we can't be. We have tickets and -"

"Yep." She pushes harder at the front door. It doesn't budge. "Snowed in."

"But tickets!"

She rolls her eyes at him.

"So, now what? How do we get out?"

"We check the other doors and windows and if there's no way out, we call someone. Then, we wait."

"Wait?"

"Yeah, Castle. We wait."

"Til they dig us out?"

"Right," she agrees.

"But tickets!"

"I'm sorry, Castle, but we're not going to make it."

He frowns and something similar to panic crosses his features.

"To the event, I mean. We'll be fine here."

"Right. Fine." His hands toy restlessly with one another as he begins to pace. Then, he stops. "I'll check for ways out."

She nods, glad for the distraction. "I'll check the windows. And Castle?" she calls.

He stops and turns his head to look at her. "Yeah?"

"I'm sure we can find something... else... to do here. You know. If we can't find a way out."

It takes a moment for her words to sink in, but when they do, he smirks. "This something else. Will it be better than monster trucks?"

"Oh, it'll be better," she agreed.

_fin._


	7. Not Another Word

_**Not Another Word**_

"You've been here before, haven't you?" Castle said, with a smirk.

"What? No," Beckett shook her head. "Why would you say that?"

"Before I tell you, do you want to rethink your answer?"

"I told you. I've never been here before."

"Then why," Castle asked, pausing to grin at her, "Is there a photo of you eating the biggest taco I've ever seen in my life?"

Beckett froze. Her eyes held a terror that only a deer on the road before a speeding car could likewise possess. Her arms were still by her sides, her fingers stiff, as if caught in mid-action.

"You sure look like you were having a good time," he mused, clearly enjoying his new ammo for torturing her with. "The sauce on your chin is cute."

She finally came to herself and glared at him. "Funny, Castle. Now, can we get on with the case?"

"No, I think we owe this a moment's consideration before we go on."

"Oh, really? In that case, I can think of a few places I'll stick one of their tacos if they still make them," she hissed back. "Want to find out?"

"Great idea! I'll order us a couple." He wandered away from her and began to talk in hushed tones with one of the waiters.

"Castle," Beckett said, joining him as the waiter left. "I don't think this is our guy."

"I know."

"You know? How?"

"I've known since the precinct."

Beckett glared at him. "Then what are we doing here?"

He studied her a moment, and then offered a sheepish grin. "Tacos?"

"Of course."

"I didn't realise we'd get entertainment with the food, though," he said, gesturing at the photo of her.

"Shut up, Castle."

"Soon as those tacos arrive, you won't hear another word from me."

_fin._


End file.
